Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga

Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga (28 December 1907 – 16 September 2001) was a Malagasy physician, biochemist and diplomat. Born into a disgraced royal family; Ratsimamanga trained as a doctor of exotic medicine in French Madagascar and France, where he pioneered modern nutraceuticals. Ratsimamanga returned to Madagascar and, with his wife, Suzanne Urverg-Ratsimamanga, in 1957, established the which specialised in herbal medicine.

While in France, Ratsimamanga was involved in Madagascar's independence efforts, and after independence, he became the Malagasy Republic's first ambassador to France and helped shape its foreign affairs. Ratsimamanga is considered one of Madagascar's most renowned scholars and bestowed upon him the highest orders of merits nationally and internationally. He was also one of the founders of The World Academy of Sciences (1983) and the African Academy of Sciences (1985), and was selected Madagascar's Man of the Century.

Early life and education

Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga was born on 28 December 1907, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to Razanadrakoto Ratsimamanga and Lala Ralisoa. He was the grandson of Prince Ratsimamanga, uncle and advisor to Queen Ranavalona III, who was executed in 1897 at the beginning of the French colonisation of Madagascar. When Albert was only eleven years old, his father died in 1918 from heavy drinking.

He received his early education at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Antananarivo, until he became a doctor of Indigenous Medicine in 1924. He also graduated from the Institute of Exotic Medicine and the Pasteur Institut, At CNRS, he pioneered the study of Human blood group systems, and treatments for leprosy and tuberculosis. IMRA was focused on Phytotherapy to use local plants and traditional practices to cure diseases, i.e., traditional pharmacopoeia. IMRA succeeded in using the Syzygium cumini tree as an anti-diabetic agent, and creating alternative medicines against malaria, leprosy, asthma, lithiasis, blood pressure, hepatitis and other common conditions.

Ratsimamanga was the head of Malagasy National Academy, and a Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Antananarivo. He was one of the founders of the World Academy of Sciences in 1983, Jacques Rabemananjara, Joseph Raseta and Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona were later sentenced to life in prison but were granted amnesty in 1958. Ratsimamanga claimed that he was unaware of the uprising and, thus, was not involved. thumb

Ratsimamanga was a member of the delegation that negotiated Madagascar's independence from France. He later established embassies in West Germany, North Korea, and Sierra Leone.

Furthermore, Ratsimamanga represents the Malagasy Republic at the European Economic Community, UNESCO, and Food and Agriculture Organization.

Personal life and death

Ratsimamanga married Suzanne Urverg-Ratsimamanga on 23 March 1963. a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (1989), and the African Academy of Sciences (1987), and IMRA's Chair and Albert's closest collaborator.

Ratsimamanga died on 16 September 2001, aged 93, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. First Class Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, National Order of the Lion of Senegal,

Legacy Albert Rakoto Ratsimamanga is considered one of Madagascar's most renowned scholars. A commemorative stamp was issued in his memory in 2002, and the Institut de France minted a coin tribute to Ratsimamanga. Ratsimamanga's legacy can be seen as a